ANAHEIM – The auditions continued for the Angels on Wednesday night, with Jhoulys Chacin making a better impression than Jose Valdez.

Chacin, an impending free agent, pitched six strong innings, but then Valdez gave up a tie-breaking homer on one of his two pitches in the Angels’ 2-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

It was the 82nd loss of the season for the Angels, ensuring the fifth losing season in Manager Mike Scioscia’s 17 years at the helm.

The Angels were swept by Seattle, which has won eight straight as the Mariners try to climb into a wild card spot.

Stymied by Hisashi Iwakuma for the most of the night, the Angels’ hitters left little room for error for their pitchers.

Valdez, one of the many relievers who have churned through the Angels bullpen as they look for short- and long-term answers, started the seventh in a 1-1 game.

Nelson Cruz yanked Valdez’s second pitch into the left-field seats, putting the Mariners up, 2-1. With lefty Kyle Seager due next, that was it for the right-handed Valdez.

It was his second straight outing in which he gave up a homer.

“At times he’s made some pitches,” Scioscia said. “He’s got a really explosive fastball and a slider, but the last two games he’s hung sliders and they’ve gone out of the park.”

The Angels got Valdez in a trade from the Detroit Tigers, who had designated him for assignment. Since he’s been with the Angels, he’s pitched 15-2/3 innings and allowed seven runs on three homers. Most discouraging, he has walked 12.

While Valdez and the other inexperienced pitchers on the staff are trying to create a spot with the Angels next season, Chacin is just looking for a spot anywhere in the majors.

It’s been an interesting season for Chacin, who the Angels acquired from the Atlanta Braves when they needed an arm to plug into their injury-ravaged rotation.

As a starter, Chacin had mostly struggled, with a couple exceptions, to the tune of a 6.21 ERA coming into Tuesday’s game. As a reliever, though, Chacin has a 3.77 ERA.

On Wednesday night, though, he took the mound as a starter – filling in for Tyler Skaggs, scratched a day earlier because of forearm tightness – and he pitched well.

“He threw a good game,” Scioscia said. “He commanded his sinker. He changed speeds very well. For a guy who hasn’t started in a while, that’s six strong innings against a team hitting the ball well.”

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